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24/02/2023 Fishing labour and visas; Land use and land values.

Northern Ireland fishermen ask the government for more time before new visa system is introduced, they say new rules will make labour shortages worse.
Land prices and land use.

All week we're taking a closer look at the UK's fishing industry. It was supposed to be a major beneficiary of Brexit. However fishing fleets across the country say although they can now catch more fish overall, current conditions mean they are still struggling. We report from Fraserburgh Fish Market where fishermen say one of the biggest problems they face is staff shortages. Scottish fishing boats were forced to leave 15 thousand tonnes of small haddock in the sea last year due to a reduction in on shore processing workers. The Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation wants the government to delay the introduction of new visas: instead of existing transit visas, which have enabled international fishermen to work on UK boats, in future they'll need a 'skilled worker' visas which includes passing an intermediate English language test.

The debate around how we use land, is becoming ever more complicated, as homes, food, energy and mitigating climate change, are all pressing concerns. Recent figures show arable land prices rose 12 percent in 2022, partly due to higher grain prices following the war in Ukraine but there's also been a trend for more institutions to invest in land,. We hear from Tony Juniper, head of the Environment Agency and the Green Alliance who are publishing a report on communities and land use.

Presenter = Anna Hill
Producer = Rebecca Rooney

13 minutes

Broadcast

  • Tue 24 Jan 2023 05:45

Podcast